The Goddess
by BadassBurgess
Summary: Inexperienced police officer Bayley Martinez is assigned to a special task force, dealing with Alexa Bliss, a serial killer known as The Goddess. (Bayley/Sasha)
1. Chapter 1

"Rousey, Blanchard, Martinez! Report to Sergeant Reigns. You're on special assignment starting today."

Police officer Bayley Martinez stared at her captain, Ambrose, in surprise. She had only finished her rookie year two weeks earlier, and she was already being put on a special assignment. It was unexpected to say the least. "What's the assignment, sir?" she blurted out.

"You'll find out, when you report to Sergeant Reigns," Ambrose said dryly, drawing some laughter from around the roll call room.

"Yes, sir," Bayley said sheepishly, feeling embarrassed.

"Go," Ambrose said, motioning towards the door with his head.

Bayley stood up and walked briskly out of the room, where she found officer Blanchard and officer Rousey, who had left without asking questions.

"You can't help yourself can you, Martinez?" Rousey said, shaking her head.

Ronda Rousey had been Bayley's training officer for her rookie year. She was a serious hard ass, who had pushed Bayley within an inch of breaking point many times. But the fact that Bayley had passed her rookie year as the best of her intake said a lot about the success of the teaching methods, whether they were pleasant or not.

"You know me, always asking questions," Bayley said. Since she was no longer a rookie, she wasn't required by rank to be deferential to Rousey anymore.

"Yes, we all know that," Tessa Blanchard said. She had also been a training officer for the intake that Bayley had been a part of. She was another seriously tough cop, both physically and mentally. Bayley would certainly not want to be a criminal on the wrong side of her.

"So no one has a clue what this is about?" Rousey said.

"No," Blanchard said. "Let's report to Reigns. We'll soon find out."

Sergeant Reigns' office was only a short walk away, up a flight of stairs and along a hallway. When they got there, the door was open. Reigns was inside, standing there talking to a blonde woman in a smart grey suit. Her appearance screamed detective to Bayley.

Rousey was the first walk in. "Sergeant Reigns. We were told to report to you for a special assignment, sir."

"That's right," Reigns said. "Officers Rousey, Blanchard, and Martinez, this is detective Evans. This is her assignment. I will be joining you in helping her with it."

"Good to meet y'all," Evans said in a classic southern drawl. "I asked for some of the best officers at Stamford PD. Y'all are who they gave me, so make sure they chose correctly."

"What's the job, ma'am?" Blanchard asked.

"Have y'all ever heard of the serial killer notoriously referred to as The Goddess?" Evans replied.

"I have," Rousey said. "She's thought to be possibly the most prolific living female serial killer in America, although nobody actually knows how many people she killed. She's been on death row waiting on execution for what, five years?"

"Four years," Evans corrected. "You're right, she has been on death row. But today, you're all going to meet her, because she's coming here to Central Station."

Bayley's eyes widened. She was used to writing traffic citations and busting drug dealers. She had only attended a couple of murders in her career to date, and certainly nothing like a serial killer's work. "Why would a convicted serial killer be coming here?" she asked, immediately receiving a less than impressed look from Rousey. If she had a buck for every one of those she had seen, she could have retired already.

"She's coming here because she's going to take us to the locations of three of her victims."

"In exchange for what?" Blanchard said, not keen on the possibility that a deal might have been made.

"In exchange for her death sentence being reduced to life without parole," Evans said.

"Why would anyone agree to that?" Rousey demanded. "No one even knows how many people she killed. Now deals are being cut with her?"

"I understand your anger," Sergeant Reigns said. "But think of it from the point of view of the families of the victims. They want their loved one's remains found so that they can give them a proper burial."

Rousey nodded. That aspect of it was understandable. Personally, Bayley couldn't imagine many things worse than losing someone and not even being able to mourn them properly.

Reigns looked at his watch. "We'd better get downstairs. The prison transport will be here soon."

Bayley followed Blanchard and Rousey out of the office, with Reigns and Evans bringing up the rear. Bayley fell in step beside her former training officer. "Ronda, what is The Goddess like?"

"How would I know?" Rousey replied irritably. "I've heard about her, never met her."

"Oh," Bayley said. With no information to go on, her mind conjured up its own picture of the killer she was shortly going to meet. About six feet tall, built like a football player, covered in tattoos, with a face like a bulldog eating a bag of lemons. It wasn't a pleasant image to contemplate.

The group of five made their way to the garage area, where the prison transport van would be received. It arrived only a couple of minutes after they did.

A middle aged blonde prison officer got out of the passenger side, carrying a clipboard with a bunch of papers attached to it. Bayley stood and watched, knowing she wasn't going to be involved in this part of the procedure.

"Sergeant Reigns?" the prison officer asked, approaching him.

"Yes, I'm Reigns. You need me to sign off on the handover of the prisoner?"

"Yes, sir. She has been searched and fed, and had a bathroom stop about half an hour ago. All you should have to do is take charge of her. Would you sign here, and here, please," he said, flicking between two of the documents.

Reigns scrawled his signature on each of the two forms. With that, the prison officer walked over to the van and banged loudly on one of the doors – the signal for those inside to open up.

Standing at the side of the garage with Rousey, Blanchard and Evans, Bayley noticed herself holding her breath as the doors opened. She was about to meet someone who had murdered multiple people. What even made a person consider doing something like that?

Two male guards stepped out of the van. Standing near the open doors, they both offered a hand to the prisoner to help her step out.

When the woman dropped to the floor and stepped forward, she came into view for Bayley, whose mouth dropped open at what she saw. She was looking at a pretty little blonde, who was lucky if she was five feet tall. She was wearing an orange jump suit, with a chain around her waist which had handcuffs linked to it. The other ends were around her wrists, giving her some freedom to move, but not much.

Bayley looked at Rousey, who looked back at her with the same kind of 'That's really her?' look on her face that Bayley had on hers. Neither of them could believe what they were seeing.

"Hello, Lacey," The Goddess said, offering a rather nasty-looking smile. "I was hoping I'd get to see you."

"Hello, Alexa," Evans said, stepping forward.

"Who are your friends?" Alexa asked, looking at the three female police officers. Bayley felt another chill go down her spine when she was coldly eyed up.

"They've got name badges on. I'm sure you haven't forgotten how to read," Evans said coolly.

"Rousey. She's a tough looking fucker, isn't she?" Alexa commented. "I slit the throat of someone who looked a bit like you, Rousey. Do you know what it sounds like when someone dies like that?"

"Yes I do," Rousey said, not doing the best job of masking her irritation.

"Alright, Bliss, that's enough," Reigns said, taking charge of the situation. "Come on, let's get you inside, and we can get ready for our trip to where you want us to take you."

The door into the station was near to Bayley. She found herself making eye contact with Alexa Bliss as she approached, and she had to remind herself to act like a police officer. Shying away wasn't an option. She was one of the authority figures in this situation.

"Martinez, you look nervous," Bliss said. "Young, too. And cute. What are you, a rookie?"

"No," Bayley was happy to say.

"But you were until recently, am I right?"

"Shut it and move," Evans said impatiently, pushing Bliss forwards.

Bayley felt that her face had probably given her away. Alexa Bliss had the measure of her now. Even with the notorious killer in chains, that wasn't a pleasant position to be in.

Following Reigns, Evans and the serial killer into the building, Bayley wishing she hadn't been put on this assignment. Alexa Bliss already gave her the creeps, and they had only just met.

* * *

_A/N: Welcome along to this new story. It's not going to be a particularly long one, but it should be something different to the kind of stories I usually write._

_What do you make of Alexa based on what we have learned so far?_


	2. Chapter 2

After Alexa Bliss had been taken to a locker room where she and the group of officers could change into outdoor gear, detective Evans had sent Bayley to fetch coffee for everyone. While she waited for the coffee machine in the staff break room to get going, she had decided to call her girlfriend. The uneasy feeling that Alexa had caused wasn't going away. Hopefully a talk with her lover would help with that.

"Hi, Bay!" came the slightly wary voice when the call was answered. "It's unlike you to call during a shift. Are you okay?"

Wary tone or not, her girlfriend's voice was music to Bayley's ears. "Hey, Sasha. I'm fine, physically at least. I got put on a special assignment, and it has given me the creeps."

"A special assignment?" Sasha asked. "That's your first one, isn't it? What's the job? I hope it's not dangerous?"

"No, it shouldn't be dangerous," Bayley said. "It's just making me uneasy. I have to be part of a team doing a job that's not going to be pleasant at all. I'm looking forward to getting home tonight."

"I'm looking forward to you getting home, too. I'll be getting off work early today, so I'll be home when you get there. I'll run you a tub and make you something nice for dinner."

"I'll focus on that moment. You have no idea how good it sounds," Bayley said wistfully. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Bayley ended the call. The coffee machine was now ready, so she started fixing cups for everyone. "I'm making coffee for a serial killer," she muttered, shaking her head at the absurdity of it.

A couple of minutes later, Bayley returned to the locker room with a tray, carrying the drinks. She awkwardly knocked on the door by kicking it a couple of times.

The door was soon opened by Tessa Blanchard, who took one of the cups for herself before holding the door open for Bayley to walk in.

"Thanks," Bayley said. Going into the room, she found everyone dressing in rubber boots and heavy coats with the Stamford City Police Department logo on the left breast, apart from Bliss, who had been given a plain black one. The weather outside was cold and damp, so they were going to go out to the countryside prepared. Following her change of clothes, Alexa's chains and restraints were now back in place, Bayley was happy to see, and she had been sat on a bench with her back to the door. Reigns was nowhere to be seen. He would naturally have left the room while the women changed, leaving Evans in charge.

Rousey and Evans came over to take drinks from the tray. The detective also took one for Alexa, but didn't give it to her right away.

"Alexa, if I give this to you, you're going to sit there and drink it," Evans drawled. "If you throw it at someone, I'm going to beat your ass and send you back to jail, and the deal will be off."

Bliss looked at the detective, obviously not intimidated in the least by the threat. "You think I went to all this trouble to attack you with a coffee cup? Relax, Lacey. I'll drink my drink like a good girl, then we'll go dig up some bodies. It should be a good time. Now, where's the rookie?"

"She means you," Rousey unnecessarily told Bayley.

"I'm here. And I'm not a rookie," Bayley said.

"Sure you are. Come over here and talk to me," Bliss said in a friendly voice that chilled Bayley again.

Bayley looked at Rousey with a 'shall I do what she says?' look on her face. Rousey responded by moving her head towards Bliss, telling her to go.

The last thing Bayley wanted to do was talk to Alexa, but she had been put into the position. Reluctantly, she walked over and sat down on the bench opposite The Goddess.

Alexa smiled, but the warmth didn't extend to her eyes. They were like shark's eyes, cold and emotionless. "What's your first name, Martinez?"

"I'm not going to tell you that," Bayley said automatically.

"See, I think you are," Alexa said icily. "Lacey, tell this rookie she had better start being a bit nicer to me, or this deal is off."

"If the deal is off, you're going back to death row and you'll be getting the injection by the end of the year," Evans said. "However, I do want to recover these bodies for the families. Tell her your name, Martinez."

"My name is Bayley."

"Bayley?" Alexa smiled. "I expected something more... Mexican."

"I'm half Mexican."

"That makes sense," Alexa said. "You're quite cute, Bayley. That's not something I expected to say to a police officer."

"You're not going to get into my head, Alexa," Bayley told her, determined to make it clear that she was no push over.

"I like you," Alexa said after a moment. "Lacey, I have decided I'm only going to talk to Bayley during our little... mission. Any information I choose to give, I will give to her, and only her."

Great, Bayley thought. The job had just gotten a lot harder and even more unpleasant from her point of view. She knew enough from her training to know that she was now key to this operation. It would be up to her to form a connection with Bliss in order to make her open up and reveal as much information as possible.

"That okay with you, Martinez?" Evans asked.

Bayley had no intention of saying no. She was aware that this was a big opportunity to prove herself. Besides, Rousey was watching her from across the room. While she wasn't officially still Bayley's training officer, she was still Bayley's training officer. "Yes, ma'am," she replied with more confidence than she felt.

"I'm looking forward to it," Alexa said.

"Alright, drink up," Evans said. "Sergeant Reigns will be back soon, then we'll be leaving. Martinez, here are your boots and jacket." She had fetched the items from a corner of the room. They were put down on the bench beside Bayley.

"Thank you," Bayley said. She downed her coffee in a couple of hits, then set about putting the rubber boots on. "I'm guessing we're going somewhere remote, based on needing these."

"Remote enough that the bodies haven't been found," Alexa said. The evident pleasure she took in that fact chilled Bayley again

A loud knock came on the locker room door, followed by Reigns' voice. "If you're ready in there, let's go."

"We're ready," Evans called back, as Bayley hurried to put her jacket on. She was fortunate that she had remembered to stuff a pair of leather gloves in her pants pocket at the start of the shift. At that time she had assumed she was in for a day patrolling the streets in the freezing winter weather. It was actually going to be spent out in the country, which would be even colder.

"You don't like the cold, Bayley," Alexa commented, watching her work her hands into the gloves.

"No, I'm a California girl. The weather is somewhat different here in Stamford. How about you?"

"Me? No, the cold isn't my thing either. I'm all sunshine and light," Alexa said, flashing a smile that was equally beautiful and deadly.

Blanchard had also prepared for the cold. She now had a black beanie hat on. Rousey and Evans, meanwhile, seemed not to be concerned by the prospective cold day ahead. The heavy jackets were the only concession they had made.

"Right, let's go," Evans said, happy that everyone was ready. "After you, Alexa."

"You're most kind," Alexa said dryly as she got up.

The group made their way back to the parking garage, where a van now stood waiting for them. There was also a squad car there with two officers inside, and a another van from the forensics department. The squad car was the escort, and the forensics guys would be there to do the excavating when Alexa identified a location.

"Okay, Martinez, you're up front with me," Evans said. "Blanchard, Rousey and Sergeant Reigns will accompany the prisoner in back."

"No. I said I want to deal with Bayley," Alexa said defiantly.

"And you will, when we get to the destination," Evans said. "During transport, the least experienced officer rides up front. Regulations."

There was no such regulation, Bayley knew. But she also knew that Evans was saying there was one for a reason, so she kept her mouth shut. Alexa seemed to take it at face value, allowing Reigns to guide her over to the back of the van.

"I'll be driving," Evans told Bayley, heading around to the driver's side.

Bayley got into the passenger side. For now, she kept her peace. When they got onto the road, she had questions she wanted to ask.

Two bangs came from the back of the van. It was the signal that Alexa had been secured to the bench, and everyone was ready to depart. Evans fired up the engine, signalling through her window to the squad car, which pulled out of the garage ahead of them.

"So, I'm guessing you wanted to speak to me without the little psychopath hearing us," Bayley said once the van was on the road.

"Yes," Evans said. "Martinez, I need to know you're prepared for what's coming your way over the next few days. What happened back there, with Bliss insisting on speaking only to you, has made you the key to this whole thing. Families who have waited years to properly mourn their loved ones are now relying on you to get her to give us the location of their remains."

"Yes, ma'am, I realise that," Bayley said seriously. "I'll do everything I can to make her tell me everything she knows."

"That's good," Evans said. She glanced at Bayley for a second. "I need to tell you that you'll need a strong stomach. Some of the things that woman did to people are almost unspeakable."

Bayley took a deep breath, again wishing Ambrose had selected someone else. Wishing was no good, though. The job had been given to her, and she was going to have to do it. "I understand. I'll do my best not to let it get to me."

There was a few minutes of instruction from Evans on how to deal with Alexa, going over what she responded well to and what made her angry. For obvious reasons, making her angry was to be avoided.

"Can I ask you something, ma'am?" Bayley asked eventually.

"Yes."

"It was you who caught Alexa, right?"

Evans nodded, and answered quietly. "Yes."

"How?" Bayley asked.

Evans said nothing for a moment. "Maybe I'll tell you after this is all over."

* * *

_A/N: Many thanks to everyone who left a review on the opening chapter. The reaction to it blew my mind!_

_Where do you think Alexa is taking them? And what do you think Bayley might be about to learn from her?_


	3. Chapter 3

Lacey Evans checked a print out of a satellite image that she had taken out of her coat pocket a few minutes earlier. It showed a bunch of fields, either side of a small country road. One of the fields had a ring drawn around it in orange highlighter.

"I think this is the one she marked," Evans said, trying to compare the 2D image to the 3D reality in front of her as she drove the van very slowly down the road. She pulled up at a metal gate that led into the field. The escorting squad car ahead of them parked up on the verge a short distance away.

"This is literally the middle of nowhere," Bayley said. It had been more than ten minutes since they had driven through a tiny community of houses. Out here, there was nothing but fields. Disused fields at that, by the look of the one behind the gate. It contained nothing but patchy grass, mud, and frozen puddles of water. Bleak was the word that came to mind. At least there was almost no wind.

"She told me there are two bodies here. What an awful place to be buried. A final insult to the victims," Evans said, shaking her head.

"Yes, it's appalling," Bayley said, feeling sick on behalf of the victims, whoever they were.

Evans got out of the van, so Bayley followed suit. She saw that Alexa had already been unloaded from the back of the van, and was under the supervision of Rousey and Reigns.

"Okay, Bayley, what do you say you and I go for a walk?" Alexa said cheerfully.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Bayley said, unable to stop herself.

"I've been in prison on death row for years. Of course I'm enjoying being out in the fresh air."

You know that's not what I meant, Bayley thought. She kept herself in check, though, mindful of making Alexa angry. She needed her to open up, not close down.

Blanchard and Evans had gone over to the metal gate that opened into the field. Finding nothing locking it, they teamed up to push it open.

"Right, Alexa, let's go," Bayley said, realising it was up to her to take the lead. As Evans had reminded her during the journey, it was also her job to get as much information about the victims and the circumstances of their deaths as possible. She waited until they were into the field, ahead of the rest of the group, then posed her first question. "Can you remember when you were here last?"

"Yes, I remember it well," Alexa said, looking around the field as if it held fond memories. "If you mean remember it in terms of what the date was, I have no idea. But I can quite clearly picture the way everything was back then. It wasn't much different to how it is now, honestly. I'm guessing these fields haven't been worked in many years."

"It doesn't look like it," Bayley agreed. It was incredibly hard to talk to Alexa as if she was a friend. Quite possibly, it was the biggest challenge of her career to date. "Detective Evans told me there are two bodies here. Did you bury them both at the same time, or on separate occasions?"

"Separate. I only ever killed one person at a time," Alexa said matter of fact. "One of these two was among my first few."

"Let's focus on that one first. Was it a man or a woman?" Bayley asked, feeling a bit sickened already.

"A woman. Pretty little blonde thing," Alexa said. She set off walking up the grass verge on the left side of the field. "She's up this way."

Bayley turned briefly to the rest of the team and gave them a look that said they were on to something. With that, she hurried to get back in step with Alexa. "Do you know the woman's name?" she asked.

"No," Alexa replied, as if the question was a stupid and irrelevant one. "She's down this side of the field somewhere. I'm trying to find her. She's not helping me yet."

"Sorry, what?" Bayley asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

"When you've killed someone and buried them, you can see their spirits come up when you're near the graves."

What the fuck am I hearing? Bayley wondered, feeling her head start to spin. This psychotic bitch was way out there on a different planet. "Are you really telling me you're going to see this woman's spirit, and that will tell you where her body is?"

Alexa glared at her. "Don't mock what you're too stupid to understand. You're a cop. You're all about rules, regulations and procedures. There's a whole different reality that you have no comprehension of."

"So you're saying you killed people as part of some black magic ceremony or something?"

Alexa grunted mockingly. "No, I'm not saying that. I think she's further down."

They walked for a minute or so in silence, with Alexa looked around, looking like she was in some far away place. Lost in memories, or delusions, Bayley suspected. At this point, she half expected the whole thing to be a wild goose chase. Bliss was clearly a mental case, so who knew what was going on in her head.

"Somewhere here," Alexa said suddenly. "I can't see her, but I feel her here. You'll have to dig around here," she said, motioning to the mud just inside the field from the verge, near where they were standing.

"Here!" Bayley called out to the team following her, pointing to the spot. "We need to start digging here!"

Some of the forensics guys who were bringing up the rear had spades with them. They hurried over and started the difficult job of getting through the frozen ground.

Evans and the officers joined Bayley and Bliss, standing and watching the men get to work.

"Who is buried here?" Evans asked Alexa.

"I have no idea who she was. And I told you I'm only talking to Bayley. Why are you asking questions?"

"Sorry," Evans said.

"How did you carry a body all the way up here?" Bayley asked, looking back towards the gate where they had entered. It was quite a distance away.

"I'm stronger than I look," Alexa said. "Besides, the arms and legs were off. I took them off before I came here. I brought them up the field separately, but they're all in the same grave. It turned out she was pregnant. I didn't know that until I had killed her, but afterwards I could tell. I took the baby out. That's in the grave too."

Bayley had to step away, sure that she was going to throw up. She had gone light headed, too. She noticed Rousey take a step towards Alexa, looking like she was going to brain her. Blanchard held her back.

"God almighty," Reigns said under his breath.

Bayley couldn't have put it better herself. She bent over and wretched, but nothing came out. Alexa had cut a baby out of the dead mother before burying them both. It was a whole new level of sadism. Bayley knew that thought was going to haunt her for a long time.

Bliss stood there watching the beginnings of the excavation, seemingly oblivious to the revulsion that her words had caused among all of the officers.

"You okay, Martinez?" Evans asked quietly.

"No, I'm not. But I'll continue," Bayley said, taking a deep breath to try and compose herself.

"While they start digging, you can show us the second location," Evans told Alexa.

"We need to go back to the gate and up the other side of the field," Alexa said. "She's down the bottom end, over there somewhere," she added, pointing to the far corner.

"Okay, let's walk together," Bayley said. In all honesty, she would have preferred to get back in the van and get the hell out of there. But that wasn't the job she had been given.

"I always felt bad afterwards, you know," Alexa said as they started walking.

"My heart fucking bleeds for you," Rousey said, immediately getting a warning look from detective Evans.

Sure you felt bad, after you murdered innocent women, mutilated their bodies and buried them in the middle of nowhere, Bayley thought. It was truly preposterous that Bliss seemed to want sympathy for herself.

"How did you kill them?" Bayley asked. In truth, she wasn't sure if she wanted the answer. As was becoming commonplace, she reminded herself that she had to get as much information as possible, however awful. There was no telling when something critical might come up.

"Strangulation, ultimately."

Bayley shuddered, dreading the answer to the next question. "Ultimately?"

"Enough with the questions," Alexa snapped. "I said I'd talk to you, not have you interrogate me."

"Right," Bayley conceded quickly.

With Alexa annoyed and Bayley purposefully keeping her mouth shut, they walked back to the gate, then up the other side of the field.

"She's here. I see her over there," Alexa said, pointing to a part of the field where, predictably, Bayley could see nothing but mud and tufts of grass.

"You can see her?" Bayley asked, trying not to sound as sceptical as she felt.

"Yes. It's quite scary, actually. She's not happy."

"What does she look like?"

"Dark hair. Quite pretty, although a little overweight," Alexa said thoughtfully. "Mexican, Puerto Rican, something like that."

"What's her name?" Bayley asked, looking at the far away look in Alexa's eyes.

"I told you I don't know names. I just picked them up, I didn't spend time getting to know them."

Bayley filed that away for later. She wasn't going to grill Alexa about it, but she wanted to know what detective Evans knew about the methods Bliss had used for her killings.

"Dig somewhere over there," Alexa said, pointing vaguely towards the area she had indicated moments earlier.

"Dig over there," Bayley called out to the few forensics guys who had still been trailing behind. They moved in to get the second dig site started.

Sergeant Reigns used his radio to get in contact with the man in charge of dig site number one, over on the other side of the field. Bayley listened to the conversation, learning that nothing had been found as yet.

"How confident are you about the locations you've given us?" Evans asked Alexa.

"I mean, it's a field. I don't have any markers or anything to go on to give you an exact spot. You're going to have to keep digging."

"We will. Just remember, if we don't find these bodies, you get no stay of execution."

"Don't threaten me, Lacey," Alexa snapped angrily, her temper triggered in an instant. There was really dark, evil look on her face that shocked Bayley. There it was, the killer in Alexa. If she hadn't been handcuffed right then, she would have gone for Evans, Bayley felt certain.

"I'm not threatening you, I'm telling you what's going to happen," Evans fired back. "The deal was three bodies in exchange for reducing your sentence from death to life. No bodies, no deal."

"Keep digging. The fucking things are here somewhere," Alexa said crossly. She made the bodies of two murder victims sound like a pair of cheap earrings that she had misplaced.

"Alright, back to the van," Reigns said, stepping in to diffuse the tense situation. "We're going to the next location, then back to the station. Blanchard, you stay here. Get on the radio the moment they find something."

"Yes, sir," Blanchard said.

Alexa seemed to have cheered up at the prospect of moving on. "Lead the way, Bayley. Time for our next road trip."

* * *

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who left a review on the previous chapter._

_Next time, Bayley will try to find out more about Alexa's backstory from detective Evans. What do you think she might learn?_


	4. Chapter 4

"Have a seat, Martinez. Are you okay?" detective Evans asked. Bayley had just walked into her office for an informal debriefing after the first day spent on the special assignment with Alexa Bliss. They were both now changed out of their winter outdoor outfits, with Bayley impeccably presented in her uniform. Making her appearance immaculate while on duty was something that she always took pride in.

"I don't know if I'm okay," Bayley admitted honestly as she sat down in front of Evans' desk. The detective sat down on the other side of the desk. "Some of the things she did to those poor people. What she said about removing the baby from that pregnant girl? I don't think I'll ever forget that. How can a person be that sick? It's sadistic. Even that doesn't cover it."

"Alexa Bliss is a full-blown psychopath," Evans said. "People like her don't look at things or feel things the same way people like you or I would. They don't experience the same emotions. They don't have the ability to relate to other people. In her case, she wanted to get off on murdering people, or abducting, torturing and then murdering them. There would not have been a thought in her head about what those poor souls were going through."

"I saw that side of her come through," Bayley recalled. That was another thing that was embedded in her memory. "In the first field we went to, when you said something about her getting the death penalty if we don't find the bodies. Her whole face changed when she told you not to threaten her."

Evans nodded slowly. "Yes. I've dealt with her throughout her trial and her time in prison. That side of her is quick to come out when she's challenged. She's a very, very dangerous woman. Putting her away is the greatest achievement of my career."

"I understand that," Bayley said seriously. "One day, I hope to make detective."

"Maybe you will," Evans acknowledged. "Based on what I saw today, you have a talent for connecting with people. That's one of the skills you'll need if you want to make it that far."

Bayley took that in before moving on to her next question. "What can you tell me about her crimes? You seemed to draw a distinction between murdering people, and abducting them and murdering them."

"Yes, I did. Alexa didn't abduct all of her victims. Some of her earlier murders followed a different pattern. They happened late at night, in dark alleyways where she could lie in wait for some unfortunate person to pass by."

"So they were completely random attacks," Bayley said, not making it a question.

"Yes, and they were brutal. There was one guy, a homeless man, who she stabbed forty three times. It was utter savagery."

"Jesus Christ," Bayley said quietly. "Then, in time, she moved on to abduction, torture and murder. How does someone as small as her abduct someone?'

"More easily than you might think," Evans said, leaning back in her chair. "She would cruise around in a car at night looking for people walking along alone, or waiting at a bus stop. She would pull over and offer them a ride, saying she was going to wherever they happened to say they were heading."

"God. And who wouldn't trust someone who looks like her, in a car by herself?" Bayley said.

"Exactly. So the unsuspecting person got into the car. Once they were in, Alexa would either inject them with something or chloroform them. After knocking them out, she would drive to somewhere remote, tie them up, gag them and bundle them in the back of the car. She would then take them either to her house or to somewhere else she had scouted out ahead of time, where they would tortured. In some cases it would be for hours, in others it would be for days. All of the abduction cases ended with strangulation, butchering of the bodies, and disposal in places like where we were today."

"Truly, truly horrifying crimes. She deserves the death penalty for what she's done," Bayley said forcefully.

"That she does," Evans agreed. "But the families also deserve closure. This deal Bliss was offered is a tough one from everyone's point of view apart from hers. On balance, though, I agree with it. I can't think of anything worse than having a loved one killed and not even knowing where their remains are. It must be ongoing torture for those people every day of their lives."

"Yes," Bayley said solemnly. "I can't even imagine how awful that would be. Let's hope the excavations start getting results tomorrow. It's frustrating that we've got nothing so far."

"I hope so too. The sooner this is over and Bliss is back in maximum security prison, the better."

"Amen to that," Bayley said.

Lacey sighed, then stood up, bringing the informal meeting to an end. "Go home and get some rest, Martinez. I'm expecting a long day tomorrow. We're all going to need to be well rested."

"Yes, ma'am," Bayley said as she got up. Frankly, she couldn't get out of the station and head home fast enough. There hadn't been many days in her career so far that had made her feel that way.

* * *

Sasha and Bayley had an apartment in a complex that was about a ten minute drive from Stamford's central police station. The apartment wasn't the most glamorous place to live, but it was what they could afford on the wages of a police officer and a trainee accountant. What mattered was that it was their first home together. Home was what Bayley needed most when she walked through the front door. It was the sanctuary where she was able to turn off whatever problems or emotions her day at work had left on her mind. On this day more than any other, she really needed to do that.

"I'm home!" Bayley called out.

"Hi! Come in here, I can't come out right now!" Sasha called out from the kitchen, which was just off to left from the front door.

Bayley could hear cooking sounds, and could smell chilli. It was one of her favourites, which she was sure was why Sasha had chosen to make it.

"I'm making chilli, especially for you," Sasha said when Bayley walked into the small kitchen. There was a smile on her face that warmed Bayley's heart.

"I know, babe, I could smell it as soon as I came in. You make the best chilli."

"And you always look so sexy in that uniform," Sasha purred, stepping away from the food for a second to deliver a peck on the lips.

"Tonight, I'll be glad to take it off," Bayley sighed.

"Why? Your day went as bad as you feared?" Sasha asked sympathetically, going back to the cooking.

"Worse," Bayley groaned. She hopped up to sit on one of the work surfaces. It was a habit that Sasha absolutely hated, and always told her off for. But this time, she let it slide.

"What happened? Can you tell me about it?"

"Not in specifics. Why is there pure evil in the world, honey? Why does it have to exist?"

"So badass cops can deal with it," Sasha said, clearly meaning Bayley was the badass in question.

"I'm being serious, babe. I had to talk to a serial killer today. I was told some appalling, horrifying things. How people can do some of the things they do to each other, I really don't know."

"Oh, Bay, that sounds awful."

Bayley could have gone into a lot more detail, getting the things she had heard from Alexa off her chest. But no, that wouldn't be fair on Sasha. She wasn't trained to hear and process sick shit like that. It was hard enough when you were trained.

"I don't want to think about it," Bayley said, trying to move on. "I want to enjoy a delicious dinner, spend some time in a hot tub, then relax in front of the TV."

"I could share that tub with you," Sasha said seductively.

Bayley hopped off the work surface, walked up behind Sasha, and nestled against her, kissing the side of her neck. "That sounds perfect."

* * *

After a lovely relaxing bath, Bayley walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She walked the short distance down the hallway to the larger of the apartment's two bedrooms – the one that she and Sasha shared.

When she reached the open doorway, she froze in shock. The bed was soaked in blood. Sasha lay there dead, covered in stab wounds. Standing over her was Alexa Bliss, brandishing a large kitchen knife that was dripping with blood. With a twisted smile on her face, the serial killer turned to Bayley. "You're next, bitch!" she snarled.

Seemingly unable to move, or even scream, Bayley watched Alexa run at her with the knife. Launching herself the last few feet, she plunged the knife into Bayley's stomach.

Crying out in panic, Bayley sat up in bed. It took her a moment to realise she had been dreaming.

"Bay? Are you okay?" Sasha asked groggily, rolling over to face Bayley's side of the bed.

Bayley let out a deep sigh, wiping sweat from her brow. It had been a nightmare, nothing more. Sasha wasn't dead. Alexa Bliss wasn't in their apartment. "It's this goddamn special assignment I'm on," she said. "It's playing on my mind. I'll be glad when it's over."

"Hopefully it'll be over soon," Sasha said, barely conscious. "Lie back down. I'll hold you."

Bayley settled back down, cuddling up to Sasha, who put an arm around her. "I hope it'll be over soon, too," she replied. The problem was that, based on what had happened already, she expected things to get even more horrifying when the three excavation teams started to get results.

* * *

_A/N: Many thanks to everyone who left a review on the previous chapter._

_What do you think will happen on the second day of the special assignment?_


	5. Chapter 5

Bayley looked at herself in the mirror in her bedroom. After a couple of adjustments, she was happy that her uniform was perfectly presented. Stamford PD left it up to officers if they changed at home before a shift, or in the locker room when they arrived at the station. Bayley most often did it at home, so as to make sure she looked impeccable. When she arrived for work, all she would have to do was sort out her utility belt.

As part of her morning routine, the last thing Bayley did was retrieve her gun from the drawer in her nightstand. She was allowed to take it home, and preferred to, wanting the security it offered both her and Sasha. Anyone who might choose to break into their place at night would have a bad time.

"How do I look?" Bayley asked when she walked through to the living area, which also had a dining table. Sasha was sitting there eating her breakfast.

"You look gorgeous, and very official, the same way you look every morning," Sasha smiled. "What is your day looking like today?"

"Probably working with the serial killer again," Bayley took no pleasure in saying. "The quicker I can move on from this assignment the better. I never thought I'd look forward to patrolling the streets downtown in the middle of winter. Today, it would be a dream."

"I know you can't tell me exactly what's going on, but do you think today might be the last day of this job?"

"Might be. I really don't know. Babe, I'd better go." Bayley grabbed her coat from the back of one of the dining chair and put it on. She took her leather gloves out of the coat's pockets and put them on as well. With that done, she leaned over and kissed Sasha on the forehead.

"Have a good day. But if you can't, look forward to tonight. I'll find us a romantic movie to watch," Sasha said lovingly.

"I'll definitely look forward to that. Love you."

"Love you, Bay."

Bayley would have loved nothing more than to call in sick and stay home all day with Sasha. That was a rather silly thing to think, though, since Sasha would soon be heading out to work too. Instead, she forced herself to accept the reality of leaving for work, but not before stealing a slice of toast from Sasha's plate.

"Hey!" Sasha cried, laughing as Bayley scuttled towards the door, also laughing.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, laughter was the furthest thing from Bayley's mind. Now clocked in for her shift, she had been told to report to detective Evans' office for a briefing. If there was a silver lining, it at least allowed her to skip roll call.

When Bayley arrived at the office, she found Ronda Rousey and Tessa Blanchard standing in there. Detective Evans, however was not there.

"Martinez," Rousey said in something approaching a greeting, as Blanchard nodded an acknowledgement of her own.

"Morning," Bayley said, walking over to stand next to her former training officer out of habit as much as anything else.

"A word, while we wait," Rousey said, gesturing towards the door with her head.

Saying nothing, Bayley followed the woman she still thought of as a superior out into the hallway.

"How did last night treat you?" Rousey asked her.

"I've slept better," Bayley admitted.

"Some of the shit we heard from Bliss yesterday was tough to deal with. It even turned my stomach. I know you never experienced anything like it in your rookie year, because I was there with you for nearly all of it. So, if you're not okay with this, you can say so."

After a moment of consideration, Bayley gave a single laugh. "You're good, Ronda, but you're not catching me out. Yes, it was tough to hear some of the stuff she was saying. But I'm a cop. I have to stand up to all manner of things that are tough. I've got this."

Rousey seemed to be impressed with the response. She gave Bayley a slap on the shoulder, and went back into the office.

Following her former training officer inside, Bayley only had to wait a few moments before detective Evans breezed into the room. Today she was wearing a dark blue suit that made her look professional as well as somewhat glamorous. The woman had style.

"Good morning, y'all," Evans drawled. "Sergeant Reigns will be joining us again today. He's on his way to the cell block to get Bliss prepared for our next trip. We'll be going back to the first field we visited yesterday, since the forensics guys haven't found anything yet."

Evans turned to her desk, picking up a brown folder. She held it out to Bayley. "Martinez, since Bliss decided she will only talk to you, I pulled her file. You've got about half an hour to read through it. Go."

"Yes, ma'am," Bayley said. Taking the file, she left the office and went to sit in the officer's break room, which was currently empty.

Sitting down at a table, she started to read through the background on Alexa Bliss, starting with her childhood. It wasn't particularly surprising, she soon learned.

An only child, Alexa Bliss had been raised by an alcoholic mother and an abusive father – abusive to Alexa and her mother. Sexual abuse of Alexa was strongly suspected, although not confirmed.

In her teenage years, Bliss had shown violent tendencies, being suspended from school on two occasions for beating up other girls. There had also been an accusation of sexual assault on a fellow female student, but it had been dropped by the victim. "Threatened into dropping it?" Bayley wondered under her breath as she read.

There was no doubt that Bliss was highly manipulative. She had lured in some of her murder victims that way. The way the sexual assault allegation had been dropped further suggested that. Indeed, Bayley had seen that manipulative nature for herself the previous day when Alexa had insisted on talking only to her. She had latched on to the most inexperienced officer hoping to get into her head. The nightmare that Bayley had suffered was evidence that the mind games were working.

"Be wary of more of that kind of thing," Bayley told herself.

Suddenly, something clicked in Bayley's head. She quickly gathered up the documents from the file, shoved them all back into it, and hurried from the office. A couple of minutes later, she was walking into the cell block. Evans, Rousey and Blanchard were there, waiting. Sergeant Reigns was also there, supervising two female officers who were fixing Alexa's restraints now that she was changed into her cold weather outfit for the upcoming trip out in the van.

"Ma'am," Bayley said, hurrying over to Evans. "I need to speak to Alexa before we leave."

"About what?" Evans asked.

"Something that just occurred to me. Can you give me a couple of minutes alone with her?"

Evans glanced at Rousey, who knew Bayley a lot better than she did. Rousey nodded, signalling that it might be an idea to listen to Bayley.

"Alright, Martinez. Let's see what you come up with," Evans said.

Let me be right about this, Bayley prayed. If she wasn't, she was going to look like an idiot in front of the detective, her sergeant, and her peers. She followed Evans over to Bliss who was now securely cuffed to the chain around her waist.

"Hello, Bayley," Alexa said, offering a sweet smile. Her eyes, as ever, remained cold and calculating.

"Morning, Alexa," Bayley said.

"Alexa, Bayley wants a word with you before we head out," Evans said. "Sit down on the bench over there. I'm sure I don't need to tell you not to try anything stupid."

Reigns looked a bit quizzical, but didn't say anything.

"I don't do stupid, Lacey, you know that," Bliss said smugly.

"Apart from that one time," Evans replied, smiling as she got that shot in. Bayley had the impression that it had been a good one, even though she didn't understand the exact meaning behind it. Logic suggested that it was a reference to Alexa's capture. Bayley still wanted to know that story.

"Touché," Bliss said. "Alright, Bayley, let's have a chat. I like chatting to people."

Keeping her mental guard up, Bayley went over to the bench with Bliss and sat down next to her. If the killer tried anything, it wasn't going to take her by surprise.

"What's on your mind? Hopefully not nightmares about me killing you?" Bliss asked. Her tone was cheerful enough, but her expression was cruel.

"No, that's not what's on my mind," Bayley said calmly. "You deliberately led us to the wrong locations yesterday, didn't you? There are no bodies where we're digging."

A smile of amusement, possibly tinged with respect, appeared on Alexa's face. "Well done, Bayley. I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that out."

"Why do it?" Bayley wanted to know. "You made a deal to save your life in exchange for those bodies. Why mess us around?"

"Yes I did make a deal. And they put a rookie cop on the team working on it. That annoyed me. I consider myself more important than having a rookie assigned to me. So, I figured I would test the rookie and see if she was worth a damn."

"And your opinion now?" Bayley asked.

"I've decided to give you the real locations," Alexa said, avoiding answering the question, and talking like she was bestowing a great gift on Bayley.

"Thank you," Bayley said. People skills were one of her strengths. She was using that strength now by not reacting to the condescending attitude that she was on the receiving end of. Alexa was going to cough up information, and that was the objective of the task she had been given. The true motive was likely because Alexa would get off on the bodies being found. Plus there was the avoidance of being executed, of course. "I'm going to have to tell detective Evans what we've just discussed."

"Yes, run along to your boss," Alexa said patronisingly. "Fuck, I could never do a job like yours."

Yeah, well I could never murder someone in cold blood, Bayley thought as she got up.

"Ready to enlighten us?" Evans asked when Bayley approached her.

"She deliberately led us to the wrong burial locations yesterday, wanting to mess with me - with all of us, actually."

"How did you figure that out?" Rousey demanded. She was more of a brawn cop than a brains cop, Bayley knew, not that there was anything wrong with that.

"I got into her head while I was reading her file," Bayley said.

"It does make sense," Evans nodded. "I was starting to wonder myself, with all three teams finding nothing. It looks like I'm going to have to strong-arm the little bitch, unless she wants that lethal injection."

"It's okay," Bayley said, holding up a hand. "I already got her to agree to give us the real locations today."

"You did?" Sergeant Reigns asked.

"Yes, she's going to give us the bodies today."

"Nice job, Martinez," Evans said.

Bayley sensed that her stock had just risen. Maybe there would be something positive to come out of this dreadful assignment after all.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who left a review last time!_

_Bayley figured out the game that Alexa was playing. Will she give up the bodies in the next chapter?_


	6. Chapter 6

The weather on day two of the assignment was even colder than it had been on day one, Bayley realised when she got out of the van near the gate that led into the field where excavations had been taking place. She wished she had brought a hat and a scarf, as Evans and Blanchard had possessed the foresight to do. Rousey had steadfastly made no concessions to the weather, which didn't surprise Bayley at all.

"I'm glad I'm not spending all day digging out here," Bliss said after being unloaded from the back of the van. "Especially if I was doing it in the wrong place."

"Yeah, well they'd better not find themselves doing it in the wrong place today, Bliss, or you'll be on your way back to the big house," Evans said.

"Yeah, yeah," Bliss sighed, not at all intimidated.

"I'd love to take one of those shovels and bash her head in," Rousey said quietly to Bayley, looking at the nearby forensics team, who were waiting with their equipment for new instructions.

Bayley said nothing. She wasn't enjoying herself, and she expected that to get worse, not better as the day wore on.

"Okay, let's get this done," Evans said. "Martinez, take the lead."

"Yes, ma'am," Bayley said. Walking beside Alexa, she entered the field. The gate had been propped open by the forensics team, who had done quite a lot of excavating in the two incorrect locations that they had been given, she saw.

"They dig fast," Bliss commented.

"Where are the bodies, Alexa?" Bayley demanded, deciding to take a firmer line today. "You had us on a wild goose chase all day yesterday. You've promised to give me something, so let's hear it."

"Over in the far corner," Bliss said, pointing diagonally across the field, nowhere near the two aborted excavations.

"And the other one?"

"They're both over in that corner, near each other," Bliss said.

Bayley turned around to pass on what she had heard. "Over in the far corner. Let's go."

The weather had frozen the ground solid. One upside to that was that it made it easy to walk straight across the muddy field, instead of having to go the longer way around the edges.

"Have you studied my case?" Bliss asked Bayley as they walked.

"Yes," Bayley replied, only half lying. The truth was that detective Evans had told her about it. "I have to say, it surprised me that you were able to kidnap people."

"Chloroform is a wonderful thing," Bliss smiled, looking like she was reminiscing. "Get someone knocked out, tie them up, tape their mouth, and they're yours to do whatever you want with."

"You tortured them," Bayley stated.

"Yes I did," Bliss said simply.

Bayley looked at her. "Why?"

Bliss shrugged. "You got a boyfriend? Why do you suck his dick? Because it helps him to bust a load."

One thing Bayley wasn't going to do was talk about her personal life. For that reason, she took the comment in her stride. "So you put those people through hell just for a sexual rush?"

"Pretty much. I didn't know them. They meant nothing to me. The only person I feel bad for is myself, about being caught."

"How were you caught?"

"Why don't you get the fucking redneck back there to tell you?" Bliss snapped. Bayley figured that she meant detective Evans.

"So, Evans was the one who arrested you?"

"Enough with the questions," Bliss snarled, her face darkening.

Bayley was already familiar with Alexa's temperament when conversation approached a line she didn't want to cross. It was time to back off. In any case, they were nearing the corner of the field.

"Where should they dig, Alexa? Be as accurate as you can, please."

Bliss continued walking for about thirty seconds, then stopped. "Dig all of this up," she said, motioning to the corner in front of them. It wasn't a particularly big area. "I don't know exactly where they are, but are two bodies here."

"She says dig up the whole corner past this point," Bayley called back to Evans and the rest of the group who had followed them across the field.

"You heard her," Sergeant Reigns instructed the forensics team.

The solemn-faced group of men moved in and got to work.

* * *

"We've got something here!" one of the forensics team called out. The digging had been going on for just under fifteen minutes. Thanks to the frozen ground, it had been tough going initially.

"Looks like it's a human bone for sure. Could be a tibia," another forensics team member said, crouching over the discovery.

"Alright, Blanchard, Rousey, get her back to the van," Evans ordered, shoving Alexa in their direction.

"Hey! I didn't agree to that!" Bliss yelled as Rousey grabbed hold of her.

Rousey held Bliss by two fistfuls of the coat she was wearing, looking her right in the eyes. There was more intensity and anger in her expression than Bayley had ever seen before, sparked by the discovery of the body.

"You open your mouth one more time before we get to that van, I'll kick every single fucking tooth out of it. You hear me?" Rousey said. Everyone could tell it was a promise, not a threat. Neither Reigns nor Evans said anything to reprimand her.

"Yes," Bliss said sheepishly. Apparently she wasn't used to being on the receiving end of that kind of treatment.

"Then move," Blanchard said, stepping in to take charge of Bliss, and of the situation.

Bayley felt glad to be rid of Bliss, likely for the same reason that Evans had ordered her removal. Recovering this poor woman's remains was a time to be respectful, not something to gloat over. Alexa was rightfully being denied the sick little moment that she wanted.

With the remains now discovered, the forensics teams changed their approach. They now worked slowly, carefully, wanting to avoid causing any damage to the bones they uncovered.

Sadness was the main emotion Bayley felt as she stood there and watched the skeleton being uncovered. There was some muted conversation between Evans, Reigns and the forensics guys, but Bayley didn't contribute.

Although Alexa had admitted to dismembering the victims, she had buried the limbs in the correct locations, it was soon discovered. When the skull was uncovered, Bayley took in a deep breath, feeling nauseous for a moment. Silver duct tape was still wrapped around the mouth, testifying to the appalling and terrifying way the victim had lived her last moments.

The forensics team photographed the scene for evidence, then it was time to exhume the body from the grave.

"We should have a moment of silence or say a prayer," Bayley said sorrowfully.

Detective Evans looked a little surprised by the suggestion, but nodded her agreement to it.

Bayley said a prayer in her head as the body was raised. The others stood there silently, possibly doing the same. If there was one small crumb of comfort, this victim could now be laid properly to rest by her loved ones. Bayley now understood why Evans had made the deal with Bliss. Without it, no one would ever have found this body, or the one that was supposedly nearby. Sparing Alexa from her death penalty was a price worth paying for that.

* * *

By late that afternoon, all three bodies that Alexa had promised to give up had been located. All three had been found with tape around their mouths, and one, as Alexa had claimed, had been buried with the tiny bones of an unborn baby, tossed into the grave like nothing more than a piece of garbage.

Another horrifying discovery was that all of the bodies were missing bones. There was a shoulder blade missing from one, a fibula from another, and an entire hand from another.

"Martinez, I want you to speak to that evil little bitch and find out where those missing bones are," Evans had said during the drive back to the station. Bliss was set to be shipped back to prison now that she had lived up to her end of the agreement. Before that happened, she had been taken to an interview room for Bayley to question her. Detective Evans' thinking was obviously that Bliss was more likely to give information to Bayley than to anyone else.

When Bayley entered the interview room, she found Bliss sitting at the table, dressed back in her prison uniform. She was securely restrained, as ever.

"What the fuck is going on?" Alexa raged immediately. If her ankles hadn't been shackled to the chair, she would have probably jumped to her feet. "I gave you the three bodies! What am I doing chained up in here? I should be going back to prison."

"And you will. But first, I need answers to a few questions," Bayley said calmly, despite the way she felt about the sadistic animal in front of her. She sat down at the table.

"What questions?" Alexa said grumpily.

"First, how did detective Evans catch you? It was her, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was her," Alexa answered before giving herself time to consider whether she actually wanted to answer or not. "I found her waiting at a bus stop. I assume she had been doing that for a while, hoping I would happen to come by and decide to pick her up. I nearly drove by, too, thinking she was too tall for my taste. But I pulled over, she got in the car, and once she had her seatbelt on, I took out my chloroform rag and started smothering her with it. The next thing I knew, there were armed police all around my car. I wasn't going to let them shoot me, so I surrendered."

Holy shit, Bayley thought. Lacey Evans was one seriously brave lady to put herself in that position, at the mercy of a known serial killer. Now that her personal curiosity had been satisfied, it was time to ask the more important question. "Alexa, we discovered that the bodies we exhumed all had bones missing. Where are they?"

"You're never going to find them," Alexa said, grinning cruelly. "I made a deal for three bodies, you've got three bodies. I have nothing else to say about them."

Bayley persisted with her questioning for more than ten minutes, desperate to prove that she could prise information from a difficult prisoner. She knew that detective Evans and sergeant Reigns were watching her through the two way mirror, judging her performance.

The moment the interview room door opened, she knew that time had been called on her failed efforts. It was Evans who walked in.

"Alright, Bliss, your transport is ready. Let's get you back to prison."

Frustrated, Bayley got up and watched Evans release Bliss from her ankle restraints.

"There's one thing I've been thinking about," Alexa said to Evans when she was able to stand up.

"Which is?"

"When I go back there, I'm not going to be on death row. Someone might have ideas about killing me."

"That they might," Evans said indifferently.

"Well, here's a deal for you. You make sure I live a nice comfortable life, with no one getting the chance to come after me – I know you can do that – and I'll give you one body per year."

"If you know more locations, I want them now," Evans insisted.

"No chance. I've made my offer. If anything happens to me in prison, I take those bodies with me. No one will ever find them. I know you don't want that because you go all gooey for the families," Bliss said contemptuously.

"Maybe we can make a deal work," Evans conceded. After all, she wasn't holding many cards. "I'll come and see you in the next few days. Until then, I'll make sure you're looked after. Now move."

On her way to the door, Alexa stopped next to Bayley. Reaching up, she whispered into her ear. "There are dozens more."

Bayley shivered as she watched Bliss walk out of the room, where sergeant Reigns took command of her. She hoped never to see the evil bitch again.

Detective Evans had hung back to say something to Bayley. "You did well on this assignment, Martinez. I'll be keeping an eye on you."

That meant a lot Bayley. The assignment had been awful, but she had put her all into it. Happily, her efforts had been noticed. "Thank you, ma'am."

With a nod of acknowledgement, detective Evans breezed out of the room.

END

* * *

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who supported this short story. The positive reaction has shown me that there might ne interest in my idea of writing a series of shorts in this world. If you're up for that, let me know!_


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